L. Brooks Patterson says the 'scorched-earth' method of emergency management is working

Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson speaks Tuesday, May 21, 2013 after receiving the Max Fisher Lifetime Achievement Award at the annual Oakland County Lincoln Day Dinner. The event was is major Michigan Republican gathering that celebrated its 124th year.(Tanya Moutzalias | MLive.com)

OAKLAND COUNTY, MI -- Pontiac City Council this week voted against a plan to cut off retiree health care funding in order to save the city $6 million a year.

But it may not matter how they voted.

Under Michigan's financial emergency law, state appointees have been making vastly unpopular moves to balance the books with or without the blessing of elected officials in the state's most troubled cities and schools districts.

Pontiac Emergency Manager Lou Schimmel has sweeping powers under the state's financial emergency law and could impose the measure unilaterally, as he has with a slew of other cost-cutting moves.

"I don't know if they have the authority to reject it," said L. Brooks Patterson, the straight-talking Oakland County executive, one of the region's oldest and most influential elected officials.

"He may want to get their blessing... But Schimmel has the right go ahead and cut off benefits. He will. I don't want to say he's ruthless, but he's tough."

He pointed to Schimmel's move to shut down Pontiac's police department in favor of contract with the Oakland County Sheriff's Department.

"Saved him over $2 million a year and put 26 additional cops on the street," Patterson said. "Win-win. Took away their water system. So the drain office gave them $55 million cash. $50 miillion wen to pay off bond. $5 million went into the checking account. Took away the fire department. Now you got a contract with Waterford."

"At first, the city resented it and pushed back mightily," Patterson said about some of Schimmel's prior moves. "They didn't want to give up their police department. Today, I think if you gave them a choice, they say 'give us brown.'" ("Brown" refers to the uniform of sheriff's deputies as opposed to blue city police uniforms.)

"... I think the feeling has completely changed. Why? Because when you make a call, a cop shows up. That just didn't happen before."

He envisions the same type of unpopular measures to be implemented and to successfully address finances in Detroit.

But that doesn't mean Patterson, who grew up in Detroit, is very optimistic about the city's turnaround.

"When it's all said and done, Detroit's still going to have a crime problem, still going to have a school problem," he said. "And those are the things around which you can build a comeback city, a vibrant city."